After spending the night in jail, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis tells her lawyers, "All is well," adding that she slept well. She also says she's prepared to stay in jail. And her legal team says the marriage licenses that were issued by the clerk's office today are invalid.
"She has a clean conscience, even though she's incarcerated behind these bars," attorney Mat Staver said Friday afternoon.
Davis was found in contempt of court and jailed Thursday; since then, several same-sex couples have received marriage licenses from her office. As Eyder reported this morning, those who can now marry include James Yates and William Smith, who had sought a license five times.
"She will remain the clerk of Rowan County as long as the people" want her to, Staver said.
The attorney also reiterated that Davis "cannot affix her name or her title, under her authority, to a marriage license ... that is for Kim Davis a heaven or hell decision."
"Kim Davis is content with wherever she is. She has no remorse."
Discussing the marriage licenses that have been issued to same-sex couples since Davis was put in jail, Staver said they are "void," because they did not come under her authority.
"They are not worth the paper that they are written on," Staver said.
Staver also said that a possible resolution to the conflict between Davis' position and her public responsibility could come if the statute is changed to approve and distribute marriage licenses, rather of forcing clerks to act against their beliefs.
The jailed clerk's attorneys spoke after meeting with Davis at the Carter County Detention Center in Grayson, Ky., Friday.
Earlier today, the Liberty Counsel, which identifies itself as a nonprofit group advocating "religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family," released a statement from Staver, its chairman, which reads in part:
"Last night Kim Davis was incarcerated in a jail cell while the rest of us slept in our comfortable beds. While it is not new that some people are imprisoned, it is stunning to realize Kim is there because of her faith in God and her convictions about marriage. "Not long ago 75 percent of Kentuckians passed the state's marriage amendment. Today a Christian is imprisoned for believing what the voters affirmed: marriage is between a man and a woman. Five people on the Supreme Court imposed their will on 320 million Americans and unleashed a torrent of assaults against people of faith. Kim Davis is the first victim of this tragedy."
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